1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of do-it-yourself automotive repair, and more specifically to devices for sealing and inflating automobile (and similar) tires that may have a leak.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automobiles, trucks, sport utility vehicles, and the like typically ride on toroidal rubber tires filled with compressed air. Sometimes, the integrity of a tire can become compromised, either through the age of the tire, a sharp road hazard, or for other reasons. If the tire cannot effectively contain compressed air, it becomes flat and cannot be used. Getting a flat tire can be a major inconvenience or even dangerous, especially if the tire goes flat on a highway or a significant distance away from a service station.
Some effort has been made to provide a portable tire repair kit that can fit in the trunk of an automobile or the cab of a truck and be usable by an ordinary motorist to repair a flat tire. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,172 to Thumer describes a tire repair device having a replaceable bottle containing tire sealant and a self-contained air compressor. The bottle is placed inside the pressurized container, and the compressor is turned on. As the pressure in the pressurized container builds up, because the bottle is flexible, it is compressed, thereby squeezing the sealant from it into the tire. This device is unwieldy and not readily workable because significant pressure is required to squeeze the bottle sufficiently to expel the tire sealant. Moreover, once a tire is inflated, the device needs to be resealed with a new cover at a garage or service station. Also, the device cannot be used as a simple air compressor without a bottle being present.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,345,650 to Paasch et al. teaches a tire repair device having a refillable bottle containing tire sealant having an inlet valve on top and an outlet valve on the bottom. One connects the inlet valve to an external source of compressed air such as a fully inflated tire on the vehicle, and the compressed air expels the tire sealant from the bottle and into the flat tire. This device has several drawbacks. First, it is dangerous to lower the air pressure in the non-flat tires for the sake of inflating the flat tire; tires with lowered air pressure are more susceptible to rupture. Second, if more than one tire is flat, the remaining non-flat tires may be insufficient to inflate the flat tires. Third, once the motorist uses the device, it must be refilled with tire sealant. Also, the Paasch device does not have its own source of compressed air.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,412,524 to Fogal, Sr. discloses a device attachable to a source of pressurized air such as a conventional air compressor. Air is injected into the bottom end via an elbow and out of the top end via a fitting. The air flow path is non-aligned to create cyclonic movement in the chamber. The container is refillable and integral with device, and one must remove the core of the tire valve in order to attach the fitting to the tire.
In all of the above references, the devices disclosed must either be repaired after each use or refilled, an annoying and inconvenient drawback, particularly if more than one tire must be inflated at a given time. Most do not offer a built-in source of compressed air, and not one offers a device in which an integral compressed air source can be used if no tire sealant container is present. That is, the devices described above cannot be used safely as simple air compressors if the need arises. Also, tire sealant, by its very nature, coagulates and hardens into an airtight substance. Yet none of the devices described above address the concern that liquid tire sealant remaining in the dispensing port of the device will harden and form a plug that will prevent the device from being used again.
There is a long-felt need in the art to provide a tire sealing and inflating device that an ordinary motorist can use quickly, easily, and efficiently that does not suffer from the above drawbacks.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a tire repair device that will allow an ordinary motorist to be able to repair and inflate a flat tire while the tire is still on the wheel of a vehicle.
It is another object of the invention to provide a tire repair device that can be reused repeatedly.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a tire repair device that can be reused repeatedly without fear of having the air line blocked by hardened tire sealant.
It is another object of the invention to provide a tire repair device that can be reused repeatedly and recharged with tire sealant easily.
Still a further object of the invention is to provide a tire repair device that can be used as a conventional air compressor when it is not needed to repair a tire.
The above and other objects are fulfilled by the invention, which is a tire repair device having a housing, an air compressor disposed within the housing, and an air flow path from the air compressor adapted to be connected to a tire. A receptacle and/or port is formed in the housing in communication with the air flow path; the receptacle or port is adapted to sealingly receive a container of tire sealant. When the air compressor is activated and a container of tire sealant is secured to/received in the receptacle/port, air from the air compressor is forced into the container and pushes tire sealant out of the container, into the receptacle, into the air flow path and into a tire. Preferably, the receptacle includes an intake that receives air from the air flow path upstream of the receptacle and an exhaust that returns air to the air flow path downstream of the receptacle. When a container of tire sealant is received in the receptacle, the intake directs air from the air flow path substantially into the container, and the exhaust receives air and tire sealant from the container and directs the air and tire sealant into the air flow path. Preferably, the receptacle includes a piercing projection disposed in the receptacle adapted to pierce a seal on a container of tire sealant that is receivable in the receptacle. Preferably, the intake and the exhaust are configured in the receptacle so that both the intake and the exhaust are opposite substantially the same opening of a container of tire sealant received/secured in the receptacle. In one embodiment, a check valve may be disposed on the intake to prevent air and tire sealant form entering the intake.
The air flow path preferably terminates in a hose which terminates in a chuck adapted to sealingly engage a conventional tire valve. A chuck holder is disposed on an exterior of the housing having a substantially annular depression and a central projection shaped to fit inside the chuck when the chuck is in a storage configuration and not in use. That is, the chuck is placed on the chuck holder, and the central projection enters the chuck to prevent a glob of tire sealant from hardening and clogging the chuck.
The invention also includes an unpressurized container of tire sealant for use with the above-described tire repair device. The container includes a plastic container housing, sufficient tire sealant within the container housing to repair a flat conventional automobile tire, an opening in the housing, and a membranous seal covering the opening. When the container is secured to the receptacle of the tire repair device, the container""s opening substantially opposes the intake and the exhaust. When the container is placed in the receptacle, the piercing projection pierces the membranous seal on the container to allow air from the intake to enter the opening and air and the tire sealant to exit the opening and enter the exhaust. The container is preferably disposable.
When no container is in the device""s receptacle, the device functions like a conventional air compressor and can inflate tires. Because the air pressure of a conventional air compressor can be quite high, and because it is not cost effective to use containers that have a burst pressure in excess of the conventional compressor air pressure, a pressure relief valve is disposed in the air flow path to limit the air pressure to a predetermined level in the device when the air compressor is operating. That predetermined pressure level is below a burst pressure of a container of tire sealant to be used with the device. Accordingly, the disposable containers to be used with the device need not be expensive yet will not explode or rupture during use. By the same token, when one is using the device as a conventional air compressor, one would like to be able to achieve the maximum pressure available by the compressor. To wit, a pressure relief override switch is mechanically engageable with the pressure relief valve; operation of the pressure relief override switch disables the pressure relief valve and allows the air pressure to exceed the predetermined level.
Alternate embodiments are also contemplated. Specifically, the invention also includes the container-receiving port mentioned above in a form in which the port is separate from the air compressor and has an intake that receives air from a separate air compressor upstream of the port and an exhaust downstream of the port. The port may be a separate attachment that can be secured to a container of tire sealant, or it may be integral with a disposable container of tire sealant. As another alternative, an aerosol or pressurized container may be employed in which the contents of the container are pressurized and actively expelled from the container rather than being forced out by air from the air compressor. The pressurized container may have an activation switch for selectively allowing the tire sealant to be expelled, so that when the air compressor and the activation switch are activated, the tire sealant is expelled from the pressurized container and is entrained along with the air from the air compressor.